


Real Winter

by JoMouse



Series: Snowy Stiles [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28990230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: After four winters in New York, California winters are almost depressing. Derek hates to see Stiles unhappy.Written forA Very Sterek Winter 2021. Theme: California Winter.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Snowy Stiles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2121474
Comments: 15
Kudos: 109
Collections: A Very Sterek Winter 2021, Sterek Goodness





	Real Winter

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings and Salutations!
> 
> Big thanks to [Marie](HTTP://quietzap.tumblr.com) for the beta. You are a queen!
> 
> This is the last finished story (at this moment for this week) so cross your fingers that I get something done soon for tomorrow and the rest of the week!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Stiles leaned his forehead against the window, racing the rivulets of raindrops down the pane. Pressing his hand against the glass, he could feel the coolness, but it wasn’t the same as when he would do the same at this time in New York. As Stiles’ mind wandered, a small amount of frost spread out from his fingers along the glass, and he smiled at the memories the intricate patterns invoked.

“Hey.” Derek’s voice was quiet, pulling Stiles from his musings. The frost disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and Stiles frowned at the rain-spattered window. “You alright?”

Stiles held out his hand, smiling at the spinning light that swirled above the palm. It spun and gathered and grew in strength until it became a perfect snowflake. “I miss the snow.”

Derek came to sit next to Stiles, holding out his own hand for Stiles to dance the snowflake into it; this was a game that they’d played many times since moving back to California. “You grew up here. You know what California winters are like. You were never like this before.”

“I didn’t know how much fun it was to have an actual winter,” Stiles muttered.

After high school, Stiles had gotten into Columbia University with a full-ride scholarship. Derek had followed him, leaving the Hale Pack lands in Scott’s capable hands. They’d stayed in New York until Stiles had graduated, having only returned a few months earlier. Derek smiled as he remembered the first significant snowfall in New York and chasing Stiles through Central Park until he was too cold to continue. Stiles had grown to love the cold, despite the thousands of layers he would have to put on just to survive it. 

Derek hadn’t even considered how the milder, wetter winters of California would affect Stiles. He’d heard about seasonal depression, but he’d never expected to see it in his usually bright and vibrant mate. Bouncing the snowflake in his palm for a moment, he passed it back to Stiles, who floated it between his hands, smiling down at it. The smile didn’t reach his eyes, and Derek frowned.

Stiles looked up as Derek left the room but quickly turned his attention back to the snowflake. Soon, a small blizzard roared between his palms, and his memories went back to evenings wrapped in blankets with hot cocoa and watching movies in their New York loft. He had never thought he’d be someone that enjoyed the cold weather, having sworn as a child to be a California boy for life, but now he just wanted to move back to New York. He knew it would take no effort to convince Derek to go if he knew Stiles really wanted to, but he didn’t want to leave his dad again. 

Stiles was dozing off when Derek came back into the room, two suitcases in his hands and Stiles’ oversized orange parka over one arm. “Let’s go,” he said, and Stiles rose to his feet, following without question even though thousands of them were racing through his brain.

The car ride was only about two hours, but Derek made sure to stock up on food and beverages when they stopped for gas. Stiles started trying to question Derek and even offered to program the address in his GPS, but Derek plugged it into his phone and used an earbud to follow the instructions, hiding the screen from Stiles’ prying eyes. Luckily, the novelty of being able to control the radio distracted him.

As they drove, Stiles would occasionally press his hand to the glass, frost expanding. Each time reminded Derek that he was doing the right thing. He was just thankful that there had been available accommodations when he’d called after leaving Stiles to play with his magical blizzard. When there were only a few miles left in the drive, Stiles sat up in his seat, gaping out the window as the snow began to get deeper.

“Where are we?” he asked, looking at Derek and then back outside. He rolled down his window and inhaled deeply, behaving so much like a wolf that it made Derek chuckle.

“Big Bear,” Derek responded as he followed the directions on his phone to pull into the parking lot of the rental offices. “Wait here.”

Stiles didn’t listen and stood outside the car in his parka when Derek returned with the keys. Knowing what was coming, Derek ducked just as Stiles threw a snowball. It sailed over his head, and he flashed his eyes at Stiles, who smirked and turned to start to run. “Let’s get settled into our cabin, and then we can play chase,” Derek suggested. Stiles pouted but got back into the car.

The cabin was an A-frame surrounded by trees. Derek held Stiles back from tumbling out of the car. “Unpack first. We have food to put away.”

“Yes, dad,” Stiles grumbled.

“Save that for later,” Derek teased and chuckled when Stiles’ face turned red.

As soon as they’d put away the last of the food, Derek convinced Stiles to put away their clothes because they were staying for a week. Stiles agreed and pulled Derek into a kiss at that bit of news. It was enough to keep him distracted and inside before the call of the snow became too strong. Laughing, Derek chased Stiles down the stairs and outside, managing to throw the first snowball this time and laughing when the ball broke against his chest. Stiles sputtered and cursed and started grabbing for snow. 

The fight lasted twenty minutes until Stiles fell backward into the snow to make snow angels. Derek fell next to him and stared up at the sky. The clouds were heavy. The weather report on the television in the rental office had predicted a snowstorm rolling in overnight with an expected five or six additional inches. Derek couldn’t wait to see Stiles’ face the next morning.

The sun began to set, the temperature dropping, and Derek heard the stutter in Stiles’ breathing, indicating that the cold was getting the better of the human. Derek ignored Stiles’ complaints and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder and carrying him into the house. He dropped him onto the couch before setting a fire in the fireplace. 

Finishing, he turned to find Stiles still where Derek had dropped him, a slight tremble to his body. “You need to warm up,” Derek said, moving over and stripped Stiles out of his outerwear. His jeans were soaked through, and he chased him upstairs to change into the flannel pajama pants that Derek had packed for them both.

Heading down to the kitchen, they worked together to cook dinner and sat side by side at the small table. Conversation flowed between them, Stiles’ chatter washing over Derek and bringing a smile to his face. After dinner, they took care of the dishes, nudging each other with their elbows and giggling.

The television came with Netflix, and they settled onto the couch under fluffy blankets, arguing about what to watch. They finally settled on letting Netflix decide for them, but they focused more on each other than the random comedy that began playing onscreen. Curling into each other, they kissed and chatted until Stiles yawned and leaned his head against Derek’s chest.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“For what?” Derek asked, rubbing a hand up and down Stiles’ back and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“For giving me winter,” Stiles responded, pulling back to look at him. 

Derek chuckled. “It was always winter.”

Stiles snorted. “California doesn’t have winter.” Derek glanced pointedly out the sliding glass door to the snow that had begun falling while they’d washed dishes. “Shut up,” Stiles grumbled, trying to push himself away from Derek to stand, but he pulled him back down against his chest and quieted him with his mouth.

Eventually, Stiles fell asleep against his chest, and Derek watched the fire die down over the top of Stiles’ head. Moving carefully, Derek stood and crossed to the sliding door to watch the snow gather on the deck. The house they were staying in was lovely for just the two of them, but he couldn’t imagine the Pack there with them in the tiny space. He imagined them there on the mountain though, playing in the snow and Stiles’ laughter over all of it. 

A noise behind him drew his attention, and he turned to see Stiles rise from the couch, draping the blanket over his shoulders. He yawned as he walked towards Derek, wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he commented.

“Real estate.”

Stiles’ eyes widened, a slow grin spreading across his face as his arms tightened around Derek and the scent of his happiness filled the air around them. “Winter for the Pack,” he said, giggling. “Real winter.” Derek chuckled, nodding and wondering how many houses Stiles would find for sale before the sun came up in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say 'hi' on tumblr. I'm 'josjournal' over there.


End file.
